Nuclear Physics Division

The interaction of an antiparticle with an atomic nucleus is a type of reaction that needs to be simulated in order to answer fundamental questions. Examples include the PANDA (FAIR) collaboration with antiproton beams of the order of GeV, which plans to study nucleon-hyperon interactions, as well as the neutron skin by producing hyperons and antihyperons. This same neutron skin is also studied with antiprotons at rest in the PUMA experiment (AD - Cern). At the same site, we are collaborating with the ASACUSA experiment to study the production of charged particles. To respond to those studies, our INCL nuclear reaction code has been extended to antiprotons (thesis by D. Zharenov, defended at the end of 2023). Beyond the antiproton there are antideuterons and antiHe-3. These antiparticles are of more recent interest, notably with the GAPS (General AntiParticle Spectrometer) experiment, which aims to measure the fluxes of these particles in cosmic rays. The idea is to highlight dark matter, of which these particles are thought to be decay products, and whose measured quantity should emerge more easily from the astrophysical background noise than in the case of antiprotons. The proposed subject is therefore the implementation of light anti-nuclei in INCL with comparisons to experimental data.